


At last, everything is different

by Royalwriter



Series: BeauJester Week 2019 [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Emotional Support, F/F, First Meeting, Tangled AU, fairytale, instead of the bar scene its a circus scene, overly sheltered beau, they're in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 21:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20032996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Royalwriter/pseuds/Royalwriter
Summary: Jester's been kept locked away in a tower by her dad, who only likes to be referred to as The Gentleman. She's dreamed of leaving her tower to see the festival of lights, but she's never had the courage. At least, until a handsome monk breaks into her tower, and takes Jester on a journey she never would have believed possible before.A Beaujester Tangled AU.





	At last, everything is different

**Author's Note:**

> Day five of Beaujester week! For Fairytales, I went for Tangled, both because it's a classic trope, and because I really like it. This is the first part of what will eventually be a two part fic. Enjoy!

Jester’s perched precariously on a ladder, paintbrush clutched in her teeth and Sprinkles’ nails digging nervously into her neck. He doesn’t like the heights, but she needs to be able to tuck him into her cloak whenever the Gentleman gets back. He doesn’t like pets, and he doesn’t like to be called dad.

“I hope you like this one, Traveler! I think it’s one of my best!” She’s painted a deep ice cave she saw in one of her books, but if you look closely all of the stalactites— mites? She’s not sure, whatever they’re called, they look like dicks.

There’s a faint fatherly chuckle in the distance and Jester smiles, dropping down from the ladder too quickly. She’s rewarded with a squeal from Sprinkle, and more claws in her neck.

She lays down on the floor, arms spread out behind her head.

“Traveler, I’m boooored. Dad’s gone, and he’s not here to hear me say that so I can say whatever—” she sticks her tongue out at no one in particular, “And there’s no new books, and I’m almost out of paints and there’s nothing to do! You’re going to tell me to sneak down to the festival and see what’s there, but I can’t just do that— Unless you can stay with me the whole time?”

She listens hopefully for a reply, but as expected, gets none. She sighs.

“It’s not safe if I’m alone. even with your help, and I know you’re too busy to come protect me out in public like that. I just— I want to see something, I want to _do_ something. Give me something to do, please.”

When the only sound is Sprinkles quietly snuffling in her robes she sighs again and moves to stare out her tower window.

She could technically figure out a way down, the Traveler would help her. But her dad tells her constant stories of how dangerous the outside world is, especially for magic users as pretty as her. How quickly they would tear her apart, use her magic for harm instead of security. She knows better.

It’s just so pretty out there, especially during the yearly festival on her birthday. They release lanterns, or magic lights, or maybe even stars. There’s the faint sound of music in the distance. She wants to see it in person more than anything. She’s too scared to go.

Instead, she starts sketching out more Traveler pamphlets. The Gentleman claims he hands them out. She wants to believe him, but the Traveler says he hasn’t gotten any new recruits. 

Her dad wouldn’t lie to her though, so he must just be having trouble getting them together. Yeah, that’s it. Trouble.

* * *

Jester must have dozed off by the window, because she wakes up to the sound of shoes scraping against stone. She glances down, only to see a figure with brown, tied-up hair all but sprinting up the side of the tower.

That’s not anyone she knows. They must be here to take her magic, or worse, her.

There’s only a second before the intruder is up the wall, so Jester ducks to the side and casts spiritual weapon. Her giant lollipop hovers in front of her. 

The figure climbs through the window. Jester has enough time to process that it’s an attractive, built woman before she slams the lollipop down on her head.

She goes down like a sack of bricks. Something large and oddly shaped falls out of her bag when she does.

Jester nudges it with her foot. The object doesn’t glow, or do anything that worries her right away. She hides it behind the bookshelf. That might be good ammunition later. Later, when the girl wakes up. Shit. Is she going to wake up? Did Jester kill her?

Jester tip toes back toward the figure, using her spiritual weapon to lift her hand up. The hand falls back down, limp. Oh no. Jester really, really doesn’t want to have killed this strange girl.

Thank the Traveler, the girl’s chest moves up with an exhale. Okay, she’s alive, cool, cool. Jester should tie her up, make sure that she can’t get away. Oh, that would prove she was competent too! If she managed to catch and tie up and intruder, there was no way her dad could think she wasn’t strong enough! He’d have to let her go to the festival then!

Content with her plan, Jester moves the girl into a chair and ties up her hands and feet. Once she’s fairly certain the girl won’t be able to escape, she takes a deep breath.

“Traveler, please, please, don’t let her kill me. Please don’t make kill her either, please.”

And then she casts cure wounds to wake up the intruder. 

The intruder spits a little bit of blood when she comes too, thrashing against the restraints.

“What the fuck— Is that a lollipop? What’s happening?” She sounds genuinely confused.

“Don’t worry about it, just know that I can kill you with it if I need to. What are you doing here, what do you want?”

“Nothing to do with you. I needed somewhere to hide out. I was being chased— fuck.” The girl starts looking around as much as she can in her bindings.

“Where’s my bag? Where is the dodecahedron? I need that back, you don’t want to mess with that.”

“I’ll give you that back when I’m happy with your answers.” Jester’s pretty sure she read that in a book where someone got interrogated once. You don’t give them what they want until you have what you want.

“No, I— Listen, that could be dangerous. I don’t know exactly what it does and I need to get it to the right people before something bad happens.”

_“You_ listen. What’s your name?” Jester tries to keep her cool. She probably should have asked that earlier.

“Beauregard, Beau— Shit, I should have given you a fake name, huh. Whatever. Listen, I _need_ that bag back.”

“You can have your bag back when, hm.” Jester spins her lollipop, trying to create the illusion that she’s considering and not just stalling.

Truth is, Jester doesn’t really know what she wants. Well, she wants to go to the festival. She wants to see the world and stay safe. Maybe, maybe Beau could help her? Jester asked the Traveler to come with her, and he’s too busy to do that, but maybe he sent Beau. Sure, she broke into the tower, but maybe this could work.

“I want to see the festival that happens every year. It’s not safe for me to leave my tower alone, so if you take me, and return me safely, I’ll give your dodecahedron,”

Beau’s brow furrows, “The Festival for the Lost Sapphire? I don’t have a lot of time. Wait, though, you’ve never left this tower? You aren’t allowed to leave?”

“It’s not safe! My dad— The Gentleman, says that people will use me for my magic, and I know he’s right. I don’t ask anymore because it upsets him, but if you protect me and return me I could see it.” 

“That’s fucked up.”

“He just wants to keep me safe! The world is dangerous, and that’s not the point!” Jester’s voice squeaks a little with defensiveness. “Will you take me or not?”

“Okay, fine.We can go the festival. Will you untie my fucking hands now?”

“Deal.”

* * *

The world is absolutely _beautiful._ There’s birds singing, grass squishing underneath her feet. The sky even seems more blue than it ever did from inside her tower. Jester’s already seen a rabbit in person! She has so many more things to draw, and to tell the Traveler about when she gets home.

She does feel guilty, though. Her dad would be so mad if he knew she was out. He gets mad enough when she gets too close to the edge of the tower window to play pranks, saying that someone could see her and come to snatch her. But, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t need to ever know. It can be a fun secret between her, the Traveler, and her new friend Beau.

Beau keeps giving her side glances, smiling whenever she does something new. It’s kind of sweet. Sweeter than Jester expected when she climbed through her window.

“Hey, do you mind if we make a pit stop on the way to the festival? There’s a circus in town, and I know some people in it. They make really good food, and I’m kind of starving.”

“A circus?” Jester’s eyes light up. “I’ve only read about them, but they seem like so much fun! Can we see them actually perform? Will they be doing that?”

Beau laughs, “Not during the day they won’t be, but depending on how late we stay at the festival, we can maybe circle back on the way home? If you want to stay out for a couple days, we could come back another day.”

Jester shakes her head, “I can’t. The Gentleman would be worried enough if he knew about this, and if I stayed out more days he’d come looking for me thinking something had happened!”

“You know, he shouldn’t really be keeping you locked up no matter how worried he is. That’s, like, really fucked up, Jess. The world’s dangerous, but there’s also really cool shit. You should be allowed to see it.” 

“He’s just worried. He’ll let me go out more when I’m ready, that’s all.”

“If you’re okay with that. It just seems like a shitty way to live.”

“It’s alright!” Jester shakes her head and points to the tents. “Look! We’re here!”

They’re absolutely breathtaking. The embroidery on the sides is beautiful, even from a distance. There’s so much color everywhere, more than Jester’s ever seen in one place. She thought she painted her tower walls well, but this, this is something else entirely. She wants to live here forever.

Once they get close enough to see more details of the tents, a brightly colored tiefling and a tall, pale woman emerge. They both smile when they see Beau, and the tiefling raises their arms in a celebratory greeting.

“Beau! You made it back, you didn’t die, how wonderful!”

“Molly! Come here, you cocky bastard!” Beau calls back, and they meet in the middle to wrap each other in hugs.

They seperate and Molly takes a step back to examine Jester. She shrinks a little under their gaze, until they take her hand.

“And who’s this that you’ve dragged into your debauchery? She looks far too classy to be traveling with you,” Molly teases.

“I’m Jester! I love your coat!” she says. It’s true, it’s one of the most impressive pieces of clothing she’s ever seen.

“You have good taste, too! It’s nice to meet you, Jester, I’m Mollymauk, Molly to my friends, which if you’ve managed to win over Beau, you must be. This is Yasha.” They gesture to the large woman, who gives a small wave, still hanging back.

“I promise, she’s not as scary as she looks. Just a bit quiet, that’s all. What brings you two to our neck of the woods?” Molly says.

“We were hoping to mooch some food off of ‘Duceus. I think he’d get along with Jester, she never left her tower until today. Wasn’t he like, a hermit or something?”

“He took care of a graveyard,” Yasha pipes up.

“I knew it was something creepy like that. Come on, Jester, let’s get you introduced.”

Jester follows behind them, listening to Molly and Beau chat. She chimes in sometimes, and they actually respond. Caduceus, or Clay as he offers to be called, is big too. She’d be scared of him if not for the delicious soup he offers them.

They all would have scared her earlier that day, but sitting with them and chatting over the best food she’s ever had, Molly tells her about why they like the circus. Yasha opens a book she carries with her, and to Jester's surprise, it's full of pressed flowers. The giant woman blushes when she shares them, blushes more when Jester tells her how beautiful they are. Clay explains how tea is brewed. The afternoon isn't scary, and none of them make fun of Jester for having never left her tower. They never try to attack her either

Jester wonders if some parts of the world might not be as bad as she was taught to believe.

Eventually, Beau stands up and offers Jester a hand.

“Unfortunately for you guys, Jester and I gotta bounce if we want to make the festival. I’ll see you guys later, though,” she says.

Molly boos. “Will you at least bring Jester back around when you do?”

“That’s up to Jester.”

They all look to her. Jester shrugs, and stares at her feet. “I’m not really supposed to leave. Maybe I can some other time, I don’t know.”

“That’s alright. Sometimes, it takes us time to figure out what places it is, and isn’t okay to leave. Take it at your own pace,” Clay chimes in. Jester smiles gratefully.

Beau takes the cue, leading Jester out of the tent by the hand.

“It was nice meeting you!” Jester calls over her shoulder. She means it, too. She didn’t think she’d ever get to say those words to other people, especially not people who worked at a circus of all places.

As they’re leaving though, concern flashes across Beau’s face.

“Okay, change of plans.” she turns and heads back into the tent, dragging Jester along with her.

“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, everything’s dandy. We have to go out a secret way because those are, uhhh, guards that want to kill me.” Beau’s lifting up a hatch in the floor that Jester hadn’t even noticed.

“They want to kill you? Why— what did you do?” Jester’s joy over her new friends is rapidly being replaced by fear.

“I’ll explain on the way, but we gotta go!” Beau tugs Jester down the ladder. The hatch slams shut above them, just as the sound of hooves and footsteps tear into the tent.

“Run!” Beau yells.

Jester hesitates. She could turn back, could stay with the circus people instead of running after a stranger who she only met because Beau broke into her tower. She hesitates, and then, she takes a leap of faith and runs after Beau.


End file.
